Your tree sets the tone for your approach to the festive season. Opt for the biggest tree you can accommodate and site near a socket to avoid trailing wires.

Carefully consider access to the area, to ensure you can get your tree through the doors!

A themed tree with co-ordinated decorations is nice, but part of the joy of a Christmas tree is the chance to throw caution to the wind and have fun.

“More” is my favourite way to go – a tree groaning with decorations is great to encounter and the more eclectic, the merrier. Buying a few new decorations every year allows you to build up a bank of memories that can be recalled as you rediscover and rehang your decorations.

Unicorn in Dome Christmas Decoration £5.95 www.rigbyandmac.com

There is a huge debate on real verses artificial trees, but it comes down to personal convenience. A real tree gives that glorious pine fragrance throughout the house, but means more maintenance. Ensure your tree stand allows you to water it (to help keep needles intact) and keep an access route clear beneath the tree so this can be undertaken regularly. Trim ill-fitting branches to help perfect your shape.

Artificial trees are fairly maintenance-free, but invest properly in a good quality one and take a hard look at it each year to ensure it is not getting ratty – retire it in good time and get a replacement in the January sales!

Start by stringing lights – doing this before other decorations means you can remove lights easily if you have to start again. When you think you have the correct grouping stand back and look from different angles to ensure an even appearance of light throughout the tree. Don’t forget to ensure your tree topper gets a bit of that light action for effect.

Remote controlled plug sockets allow you to turn your tree lights on and off without searching around the branches helping reduce the potential for accidents. A single remote control socket is available from around £5.99.

Lay decorations out on trays and sort into sizes. Begin by hanging larger decorations at the bottom, working your way up to the top reducing the size of decorations in correlation to the length of the branches. This will ensure that you have a balanced looking tree.

Dove with Mistletoe £3.99 from Wyevale Garden Centres

Repeat the process of standing back and, looking from as many angles as possible, adjust decoration locations so that the overall effect is even to the eye. Then sit back and wait for Santa!

How did it all begin?

Having a decorated tree in a UK home dates back to the 1840s when Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert brought over a pine from his native Germany.

1848 Illustrated London News Sketch showing the Royal Family around the Tree

In 1848, the Illustrated London News published an illustration of the Royal Family at Windsor Castle gathered around their decorated tree.

This created a trend in fashionable homes, entirely replacing the traditional kissing bough over the next 30 or so years.

Initially, trees were decorated with real candles, sweets and cakes which were attached with ribbon. However, in around 1880 Woolworth began selling manufactured ornaments.

Jamie Hempsall Ltd is a multi-award winning interior designer consultancy. You can follow the exploits of the company on twitter @JamieHempsall or see more examples of their award winning work at www.jamiehempsall.com.

Metal is now a firm fixture in our interior design schemes, with Gold once again standing supreme against all comers. Richard Bond of Jamie Hempsall Interior Design explores the latest revival of this old friend.

From Industrial Chrome to Cool Copper, the metal finish has become firmly established in our interior design psyche over the last decade. There may have been a bit of a backlash against Gold with Copper attempting to take its mildly tarnished crown in the last couple of years, but Gold is back.

Post Modern Wall Mirror £155 from The French Bedroom Company

Once a clear indication of wealth, these days gold is attainable in interiors without the need to take out a second mortgage. Recently, gold was seen as a little brash, but this year sees its triumphal return to the interiors fold in all its shining glory.

The continued development of the market for Mid-Century Classic furniture, iadvancing from the Skandi Chic of the 1950s and 1960s to embrace the full-on hedonism of the 1970s and early 1980s is definitely a key reason for it’s resurgence.

Strong blues also continue to be an important trend in interiors colours – with key fabric collections such as Indigo by Ian Sanderson flying off the shelves (from £35/m – www.iansanderson.co.uk) – and these also play particularly well against gold finishes.

Test your tolerance with the inclusion of some gold in detailing: a rug is the perfect place to start with and the Tonquin Gold Rug by Wedgwood is an excellent example. The grey wool background providing the perfect foil for Gold Viscose and shows how to go all out chic (£349; therugseller.co.uk).

Gold Tonquin Rug by Wedgwood £349 www.therugseller.co.uk

Chair legs and side tables are also perfect solutions to introduce gold into your home. Gold metal works particularly well when is teamed with softer textures, such as velvet upholstery to avoid a harsh feel to your finish.

Mica Side Table £195 from Oliver Bonas

The High Street is offering wonderful bright gold pieces that clearly celebrate the 1970s – Oliver Bonas have some particularly good examples of geometric occasional tables, whilst the Mulberry Leaf Lounger by Graham & Greene is surely going to be an icon of this new golden age.

Mulberry Leaf Lounger £295 from Graham & Green

You can increase the intensity of your inclusion by using key feature pieces such as a large gold table lamp. It is essential to inject a bit of tongue in cheek humour here; consider pineapples or palm trees to add the perfect hint of the 1970s.

Palm Tree Solid Brass Table Lamp £295 www.cuckooland.com

If you are feeling particularly bold, then consider channelling the current 1960s Biba Revival and incorporate the Original Style Artworks Gold Half Tile, available in Sigma Gold & Jet Black, to create the perfect backdrop to a boho chic interior (£8.45 per Gold Half Tile – www.originalstyle.com).

Artworks Gold Half Tile £8.45 per tile www.originalstyle.com

It is not all about revival though, the juxtaposition of gold against modern building finishes, such as polished concrete, are also high in the design stakes. The Fusion Concrete Occasional Table from John Lewis, £99, shows just how perfect this combination can be – without breaking the bank!

The drink darlings of the 20s, 50s and 80s – the cocktail is enjoying another timely resurgence. Whilst home bars may be considered past their prime, the cocktail cabinet and trolley are definitely once more “on the up”. Richard Bond of Jamie Hempsall Interior Design considers your options.

The resurgence of the cocktail is manifesting itself in the appearance of drinks oriented furniture in the home. Sprinkle in the introduction of the seasonal gift ranges available on the High Street and you have the ideal recipe for amateur mixologists to enjoy the perfect home cocktail environment.

Sociability is one of the basic requirements of the perfect cocktail space. Half the fun of a cocktail is picking your tantalising tipple and watching a bartender mixing the magic. So, if you are creating a cocktail area within your home ensure your guests can experience the creations first hand.

Glasstini £5.95 from Red5

At its most fundamental, a cocktail space can be created in the kitchen by dedicating a cupboard to the storing of glasses, measures, shakers and bottles. The addition of a countertop ice-maker helps with the all important ice crushing (reasonably priced options are widely available so there is no need for a special freezer).

This works best in a large kitchen where you are happy for people to gather to chat and you have the ability to lose an element of cupboard space and work surface.

However, the natural home of the cocktail is the Sitting Room, where you can welcome and entertain guests in a relaxed environment. A simple, but stylish trolley is the perfect solution for the home. They take up little space and can be moved around as desired – ideal for transferring your cocktail base from room to room. Atkin and Thyme offer the chic nickel plated Riley Drinks Trolley (£299, www.atkinandthyme.co.uk) or if antiqued gold is more your style then have a look at the Luxe Drinks Trolley from www.oliverbonas.com (£350).

Riley Drinks Trolley £298

Drinks cabinets largely went out of fashion in the last couple of decades, but with the resurgent interest in all things mid 20th Century (not to mention our unending love affair with Deco) this is once again an honoured part of your entertainment space furniture.

There are terrific period finds to be upcycled from the likes of Ebay, but if you want something more contemporary then the High Street has interesting options such as the Zabel Bar Cabinet in Rosewood from Swoon Editions (£379 – www.swooneditions.com) or the Logan White Drinks Cabinet from Next (£185 – www.next.co.uk).

Classic cocktails shouts luxury and with that in mind, you might want to go the whole hog and splash out on a statement piece of furniture that creates theatre the moment you open it up. If that is the case, then the Pollock Drinks Cabinet from Julian Chichester is definitely the way to go (£6,394; www.julianchichester.com).

Pollocks Drinks Cabinet by Julian Chichester

The finishing touch has got to be your cocktail shaker and glasses – here the world really is your oyster. However, my personal favourite is Tom Dixon’s Plum range, which combines Jazz Age Class with Modern Chic in contemporary dark blue and copper tones (available from John Lewis).

Our MD, Richard Bond, shares his tips for the Perfect Bond Martini

Put your cocktail making skills to good use during the party season by perfecting the classic Bond Martin, the Vesper. This piece of cocktail history was first introduced to the UK in Ian Fleming’s 1953 novel, Casino Royale.

Dartington Crystal Bar Excellence Martini Glass £43

Ingredients:

3 oz Gordon’s Gin (Bond’s preference)

1 oz Vodka

0.5 oz Kina Lillet Blanc

Add the ingredients into a shaker, such as the Bar Craft Boston Cocktail Shaker (£17.99; www.kitchencraft.co.uk), fill with ice and shake.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass such as the Dartington Crystal Bar Excellence Martini Glass (£43 – www.dartington.co.uk) or the quirky Glasstini from Red5.

Twist a slice of lemon peel over the drink, rub along the rim of the glass and drop in.

As nights draw in many of us wanting to give our home a facelift to remedy the Autumnal gloom. Richard Bond advises how to get a perfect finish for a paint refresh.

If you are looking to brighten up your home this autumn without a major refurbishment budget, then a fresh coat of paint can be the perfect solution; provided you are prepared to do it properly.

It doesn’t have to be about a change of colour, as just giving your room a one coat refresh helps revive your original colour and eliminates any usage marks or blemishes. However, patching rarely works as paint shades alter over time, so embrace the change and paint the entire wall.

A one coat refresh of the existing colour can revive your original shade

Take time to prepare your surfaces well, a few extra hours spent initially give a better and longer lasting finish.

If you are going to reposition artwork remove all picture hooks and repair the holes with filler. Let the filler dry and sand to a smooth finish so that your repair will be invisible once painted.

Treat small crack with filler, but large cracks should generally be considered a job for a professional – it may seem an additional expense, but it is likely to reap rewards in the long run.

Prepare woodwork properly and use Oil Eggshell for a softer finish than gloss

Woodwork preparation is vital to avoid chipping that will make your renovation look old before its time. Well-worn surfaces should be stripped with a chemical paint remover (such as Nitromors) or a hot-air paint stripper to give you a clean base. Even surfaces in good condition should have existing top coats gently sanded to a matt finish as this allows new paint to bond properly.

Apply the first coat of emulsion to your walls and, once this has dried, undercoat any woodwork. Be patient!! After this has dried, apply a second coat of emulsion and then a topcoat of your chosen woodwork finish; this ensures better definition and finish between the paints.

Your choice of paint finish is vital – things have come a long way since simple gloss or emulsion. In areas like hallways, which are prone to hard wear, use washable emulsion such as Dulux Endurance+ Matt or Zoffany Elite Emulsion. These finishes are washable and generally stain resistant.

We use oil eggshell for woodwork. The finish is softer than gloss and seems easier to apply than acrylic eggshell, which can dry very quickly and be more prone to streaking.

As with many things, cheap paint may sound a bargain, but often contains less pigment so can require more coats and be more difficult to work with. Trade up to a good quality paint such as Paint & Paper Library (www.paintandpaperlibrary.com) and not only are the colours likely to be more intense, but it should to take less time to do the job.

The new range from Paint and Paper Library from £21 for 750ml

Richard Bond is MD of multi-award winning interior designers Jamie Hempsall Ltd. Read more at www.jamiehempsall.com or follow them on twitter @JamieHempsall.

Jamie Hempsall & Richard Bond popped into BBC Radio Sheffield’s Paulette Edwards’ show again on 26th Sept 2016 discussing how our how to make your home work for you, new season’s trends and …. Lorraine Kelly’s cleavage!

All is revealed if you want to follow the link.

Follow the link, the whole show is really good, but if you do want to just hear our bit we are 01:08:47 to 01:42:06.

As we head into Autumn, Richard Bond looks at how we can get more light into our homes

As the sun begins to appear a little less each day, we can take action to ensure our homes do their best to keep our spirits high by making the most of any light sources available.

Reflection is the key way to amplify both your natural and electric light over the coming months – not to mention your good mood!

Temple bedside table in eglomise by JulianChichester

We often talk about the importance of using mirrors to help bounce light into areas that might otherwise be dark. This can be achieved not only from a simple wall hung mirror, but also by the inclusion of reflective materials in the surfaces of ornaments and furniture throughout the area.

If this sounds like a dusting and finger-mark nightmare, or you have concerns it might feel brash, you can tone down the overall effect by opting for églomisé finishes, rather the clear mirror.

Verre églomisé is a production technique where glass is gilded on the back with gold or metal leaf. It provides subtle, muted reflection. The technique has been around for centuries and was particularly popular in the 18th Century, but is experiencing a renaissance. The term now given to this technique appeared in the early 20th Century and is derived from the name of Jean-Baptiste Glomy, a French picture framer who used the process in glass mounts.

Perhaps a more cost effective way to introduce delicate reflection is to use one of the metallic or beaded papers from the latest wallpaper collections.

Nina Campbell has included a number of light reflective designs in her Coromandel Collection for Osborne & Little. Vignola (pictured) features an ornamental ogee trellis composed entirely of tiny beads, which provide delicate shimmer (£95 for a 10m roll, www.osborneandlittle.com). Her Gioconda design has flock on a reflective background generating subtle light seduction (price and details as before).

Vignola Wallpaper by Nina Campbell for Osborne & Little

Gioconda Wallpaper (also by Nina Campbell for Osborne & Little)

If you fancy something more glass oriented, then Cole & Son have launched Antique Mirror in three shades (gold, “gilver” and silver). The design shows foxed metallic panels on a foil base paper: a wonderful way to create a cost effective alternative to antique mirror tiles which would be particularly effective in hallways and bathrooms (£85 for a 10m roll, www.cole-and-son.com).

Mariinsky Antique Mirror by Cole & Son

My final wallpaper recommendation, Cilium, comes from the Anthology 04 collection and is based on an original artwork using folded and creased tissue paper. This is reproduced in small blocks, with the texture and reflectivity of the mica & metallic background vinyl providing a modern, warming surface that you want to stroke (£114 for a 10m roll, www.anthology.uk.com).

Cilium Wallpaper by Anthology

Experimentation and imagination are the key to incorporating light reflection, but the end results should reap rewards over the coming months.

Richard Bond is MD of multi-award winning interior designers Jamie Hempsall Ltd. Read more at www.jamiehempsall.com or follow them on twitter @JamieHempsall.

Management team Jamie Hempsall & Richard Bond were delighted to be featured as guests on BBC Radio Sheffield’s Paulette Edwards’ show on 29th July 2016 discussing how our homes looked in 1966. Why? Well does “They think it’s all over…it is now!” ring any bells. This was the 50th anniversary of England’s World Cup Win!

There has certainly been a change to how our homes look and feel since that time.

To get an incite into the amazing differences between then and now (some of the statistics are breathtaking).

Follow the link, the whole show is really good, but if you do want to just hear our bit we are 01:07:45 to 01:30:10. Happy Weekend!